As
a long-time Prince fan, I was lured into my home theater this Sunday
afternoon to watch the half time show of the Super Bowl. Despite his
many quirks, Prince is an amazing artist on many levels. His ability to
play more than a dozen instruments, his prolific songwriting and his
cross-generational appeal all make him one of the greatest musical
entertainers and performers of our time. By my standards Prince ranks
up there with the likes of Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, Igor
Stravinsky, Miles Davis and John Coltrane as a twentieth century
musical master.

During Prince’s brief performance on national television, I couldn’t
help but notice a few things that really stuck out for me. Did you
notice that he was taking guitar solos? Unquestionably, Prince is a
crossover pop artist of the highest caliber however when was the last
time you heard one of today’s best bands or artists crank out a solid
guitar solo? Tune into any “alternative” terrestrial radio station and
the closest thing you will hear to a guitar solo is a band mimicking
the melody.

When you want to know what makes classic rock and the best of pop
appeal to the masses I think you need to look to the musicianship as
much as the vocals or the production. The Police will reunite at the
Grammy’s in a few weeks marking a return of a band that could really
play. Mainstream consumers and music fans likely can’t articulate that
they love the syncopated drum fills of Stuart Copeland however millions
upon millions of fans can tell you that they love the music of The
Police. Van Halen is slated to reunite with David Lee Roth this year
for a highly anticipated concert tour of a band that has strong musical
chops and appeals to kids today as well as older listeners.

Is
it possible that rap and hip hop are played out? Production can be
aurally appealing but today it seems like trying to live on a diet of
icing and no cake. Angry ghetto babble over a predictable beat with a
stolen familiar melody from a hit song from yesteryear. The formula is
simply too formulaic leaving music fans still hanging on every
self-indulgent note Prince ripped on his many guitars.

Super producer Rick Rubin has been reported to have signed on to be the
“music Czar” at Sony Music. With his understanding of successful rock,
heavy metal, country and hip-hop – he is the perfect person to start a
trend back towards bands that can really play. Production should be
more about musical complexities and acrobatics and less about dippy
little rap beats. The classic rock and classic pop genre prove this is
what people want to hear. I would bet it is also what they want on
their iPods, playing in their cars, on their computers and beyond.